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Original poster

Registering with estate agents?

16 replies

LopsidedWombat · 30/04/2021 14:15

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me about registering with estate agents please? Did it help you? I have been reluctant to as we do have some specific criteria due to mobility issues and I really don't want to open a Pandoras box of being bombarded with unsuitable properties and random phone calls which happened when in contact with a particular estate agent for a while before.

Thank you and good luck to anyone else currently looking!

OP posts:
Original poster
LopsidedWombat · 30/04/2021 14:21

Oh and I forgot to add... Friends and family make it sound like there's secret stash of properties that are being sold to people who are registered with the EA before being listed online. Is that true??

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LakeShoreD · 30/04/2021 14:23

We sold our house to someone on the agents books before it even went on the open market. My parents have also done this twice. So I’d say definitely worth it. You probably will get bombarded with emails for stuff you’re not interested in because I don’t think estate agents can help themselves but I’d personally think that’s better than missing out on a house. Maybe set up a rule to send all agents emails to a specific folder and review them on mass once a day?

Telltaletall · 30/04/2021 14:24

Depends on your area but yes that's true. Although.. I don't think registering in itself will help. You need to regularly call the agent, make 'friends' and prompt them to tell you.

mklanch · 30/04/2021 14:38

i have registered to many estate agents. for us its a complete waste of time. they send us properties after they have reached rightmove, so i've already seen them. they also send me many properties that don't even meet our requirements. they nearly all send me new build type properties with tiny gardens....when i need a house with a min of 1 acre

umbel · 30/04/2021 14:38

We’ve found it useless so far, but that might be because of the way the market is. EAs don’t need to do anything to sell a house round here - they just need to stand clear of the stampede (on a different thread someone likened it to the Hunger Games!)

The only exception to this was the agent that is selling our current home. Of course they have a vested interest in making sure our sale doesn’t collapse because we can’t find an onward property, and the bonus is that they get more commission if they can find us a new home. They did actually find us the perfect place, but it fell through when the vendors withdrew.

Original poster
LopsidedWombat · 30/04/2021 14:46

Ooh that's interesting, some good info. I am happy to call them regularly and make friends! And if we actually got sent some suitable properties I'd not mind sifting through the others.

@mklanch this is what has put me off. When we were in touch with one agent for about six months, they didn't send me one suitable property in that time! And we kept receiving phone calls about having our property valued even though we had been clear that we rent.

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Mosaic123 · 30/04/2021 14:49

We registered with loads and did see a handful of properties before they were on the market. I think it is essential to set up alerts on your phone and to see the property as soon as possible (a day or two) after it comes on. Set up an appointment immediately it comes on if you have any interest at all. And don't delay offering when you find the one.

Original poster
LopsidedWombat · 30/04/2021 14:52

@umbel the hunger games really is how it feels! If we weren't unhappy where we are we'd put it on the back burner at this point. That may happen in any case.

Sorry you've been through the experience of a purchase falling through, had it ourselves earlier this year and it only adds to the disenchantment of trying to buy in this climate!

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wonkylegs · 30/04/2021 15:01

We set up a specific email account when we were looking just for the estate agents
Helped keep the main email clear of junk and then we could forget it once we bought.
We had a specific set of requirements but still got sent loads of unsuitable stuff it was easier to sift through if it was all in one place away from general emails

Original poster
LopsidedWombat · 30/04/2021 15:10

@wonkylegs that's a really good idea and now you've said that it seems like an obvious solution and can't believe it's never occurred to me Blush

@Mosaic123 I've got alerts setup and you're absolutely right about how fast you have to move. Last one we saw that ticked boxes, we saw it on the day viewings started and it sold later that day for 25k over asking price. The EA practically laughed at our offer of asking price.

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CoconutChair · 30/04/2021 19:00

It definitely helps to build a relationship with EAs. If they know you’re a committed buyer in a good position, they’ll know you’re engaged in the process. We had a few that kept us informed when they were booked to do valuations. It meant we saw properties before the floor plan had been created etc. I think that’s a big plus in the current fast market.

CoconutChair · 30/04/2021 19:01

Forgot to add that we also saw a few houses that weren’t ever publicly “on the market” e.g. the vendors didn’t want their neighbours knowing they were selling!!

readytosell · 30/04/2021 19:06

It's a really good idea. House a few doors up from me sold last week before even going onto Rightmove etc, as they had so many viewers lined up from just calling people on their books. Neighbour was absolutely stunned!

ManyMaybes · 30/04/2021 23:01

A lot of very good houses get sold before hitting Rightmove, which in a market like this baffles me. Throwing money away to make an estate agent’s life easier. And I also suspect that the estate agents will be prioritising their own vendors to be first in line for good houses off market to complete chains.

Think about it - it can only benefit the estate agent to sell off market (unless as someone said you are concerned about nosey neighbours I guess).

Anyway, definitely important to have EAs low who you are :)

Hazel444 · 01/05/2021 08:13

@LopsidedWombat

Oh and I forgot to add... Friends and family make it sound like there's secret stash of properties that are being sold to people who are registered with the EA before being listed online. Is that true??
It is true! We just had an offer accepted on a house before it went onto the open market.
Hazel444 · 01/05/2021 08:15

[quote LopsidedWombat]@wonkylegs that's a really good idea and now you've said that it seems like an obvious solution and can't believe it's never occurred to me Blush

@Mosaic123 I've got alerts setup and you're absolutely right about how fast you have to move. Last one we saw that ticked boxes, we saw it on the day viewings started and it sold later that day for 25k over asking price. The EA practically laughed at our offer of asking price.[/quote]
That's so mean of them - they obviously are rubbish at pricing properties if the asking price they set is so wrong that they laughed at an offer at that price!

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